Texprocess opens with increased exhibitor numbers once again

The world of textile processing in Frankfurt am Main in Germany
Strong growth in cutting, sewing, seaming and fastening

With 312 exhibitors from 36 countries (2015: 273 from 33 countries) and a growth rate of 14 %, Texprocess (9 to 12 May 2017) launches its biggest event ever. Held in parallel to Techtextil, Texprocess, the leading international trade fair for the processing of textile and flexible materials in Frankfurt am Main, will showcase, for the fourth time, all the stages of the value creation train in the textile industry, including design technologies, IT, the various processes and procedures for cutting, sewing, seaming, embroidering and knitting, as well as technologies for finishing, textile printing and logistics. And Texprocess will be offering additional stimulus for the sector with the first ever Digital Textile Micro Factory.

“Texprocess demonstrates the unbelievable dynamism that currently exists in the textile-processing industry. Particularly in areas like cutting, as well as sewing, seaming and fastening technologies, we are seeing strong growth amongst exhibitors. At the same time, the automation of the processes involved is becoming ever more important,” says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles and Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt. Elgar Straub, Managing Director of the VDMA’s Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies Division, concurs: “Personalisation of clothing, digitalisation of the value creation chain and new technologies such as digital printing and sustainable processing technologies are the major issues currently preoccupying the sector.”

The additional exhibitors come mainly from Turkey (+10) and Italy (+9) as well as from China (+9) and Japan (+4). China, Japan and Taiwan are each represented with a national pavilion at Texprocess. Altogether, there are 204 companies from outside Germany amongst the exhibitors (2015: 161) and 108 from within Germany (2015: 112).

Texprocess Innovation Award: focus on new technologies
With the Texprocess Innovation Award, to be held this year for the fourth time, Messe Frankfurt seeks to reward the best new technological developments in the field. A total of four prizewinners are to receive their awards during the joint official opening of Texprocess and Techtextil on 9 May in the presence of Dirk Wiese, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy. At the same time, all the award-winning products will be presented in a special display in Hall 4.0.

Digital Textile Micro Factory: on the way to Industry 4.0
In the ‘Digital Textile Micro Factory’, Texprocess will, for the first time, be staging, live, a fully integrated production chain for clothing manufacture. In collaboration with the German Institutes for Textile and Fibre Research (Deutsche Institute f?r Textil- und Faserforschung) in Denkendorf and a number of well-known companies from the textile processing industry, Texprocess will showcase a completely networked garment production chain in the micro factory in Hall 6.0 – from design, digital printing and the automated cutting-out process to assembly. Visitors to Texprocess pass through the individual stations of the micro factory on a predetermined path and, at each stage, can get information from experts in the field.

Complementary programme: emphasis on digital printing and fashion show
Digital printing is one of the major themes in this year’s complementary programme. The World Textile Information Network (WtiN), which serves as the sector’s central information service, is, for the first time, offering the European Digital Textile Conference at Texprocess. Centre stage at the conference is occupied by technologies for digital printing of textiles. The conference will be held on Wednesday, 10 May in the Saal Europa in Hall 4.0.

Also part of the Texprocess Forum is a lecture series dedicated to the digital printing of textiles. The forum offers expert lectures on the current issues of major relevance to the sector on all days of the show in Hall 6.0. The programme has been devised as a result of consultation between the German organisation for textile apparel, the Dialog Textil-Bekleidung (DTB), the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the World Textile Information Network (WTiN) offering dedicated lecture panels.

The Innovative Apparel Show, which was successfully launched at Techtextil and Texprocess 2015, becomes even more of an international event in 2017 with universities and colleges of fashion and design from Germany, France, Italy and Portugal. The young designers will be showing designs relating to the key areas of ‘Textile Effects’, ‘Creative Engineering’ and ‘Smart Fashion’. Their fashion pieces will be staged professionally in a fashion show in the Foyer of Halls 5.1/6.1. Visitors can vote for their choice for the Public’s Award.

Textile processing technologies for space travel
Exhibitors and visitors at Texprocess will, this year, have the added benefit of the special Techtextil exhibition ‘Living in Space’ in Hall 6.1. In this area, Techtextil, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aeronautics Centre (Deutsches Zentrum f?r Luft- und Raumfahrt – DLR), using the example of space travel, are showcasing the diversity of applications for technical textiles, together with the processing techniques used in their manufacture.

New locations for exhibitors of CAD/CAM and CMT
With a view to sharpening the profile of Texprocess still further, product groups including bonding and separating technologies, cutting, making and trimming (CMT), CAD/CAM and printing have all been concentrated in Hall 4.0 at Texprocess. Exhibitors from Techtextil in this segment now exhibit at Texprocess. The names of the sections at Techtextil have been adjusted to take account of the product groupings mentioned.

Apart from this change, the layout of the halls remains the same as usual. Visitors will again find the new IT solutions for the apparel industry in the IT@Texprocess area in Hall 4.0. Exhibitors will be presenting Product Lifecycle Management Systems (PLM), Cloud applications and 3D CAD systems, which make it possible to create made-to-measure clothes in real time and without the need for trial fittings. Trade visitors will also find the ‘Design’ area in Hall 4.0. In Halls 5.0 and 5.1, exhibitors will present machines and accessories for sewing, seaming and joining. Hall 6.0 will showcase embroidery techniques, finishing and textile logistics.

Texprocess will again be taking place in parallel to Techtextil, leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens (also from 9 to 12 May 2017). Some 1,477 international exhibitors are due to attend what is set to be the largest Techtextil that has been held to date.

Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With some 2,400 employees at 30 locations, the company generates annual sales of over €640 million. Thanks to its far-reaching ties with the relevant sectors and to its international sales network, the Group looks after the business interests of its customers effectively. A comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services.
With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).

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